Prospect lures chef L'Hommedieu from Mina Group

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, April 19, 2012

Photo: Drew Altizer

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Internationally renowned fashion illustrator David Downton was in town recently for a booksigning party for his Masters of Fashion Illustration, (Laurence King Publishers, 2010) hosted by interior designer Ken Fulk. Downton, whose animated drawing of Denise Hale is found in the opening credits of PBS TV's "Downton Abbey" (no relation), also dined with friends after the party. Seen here, from left to right: Rolando Beramenbi, restaurateur Nancy Oakes. less

Internationally renowned fashion illustrator David Downton was in town recently for a booksigning party for his Masters of Fashion Illustration, (Laurence King Publishers, 2010) hosted by interior designer ... more

Photo: Drew Altizer

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Chef Guy Fieri presents a dish to the crowd at his interactive dinner during the Pebble Beach Food and Wine event in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Saturday, April 14th, 2012.

Chef Guy Fieri presents a dish to the crowd at his interactive dinner during the Pebble Beach Food and Wine event in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Saturday, April 14th, 2012.

Oakes, chef-partner of Boulevard and Prospect, says she wasn't looking to hire the talented L'Hommedieu away from the Michael Mina Group, but the union just fell into place.

Now she's ready to learn from L'Hommedieu, who has been a presence in the Mina system for years, and has also worked for Alain Ducasse and Thomas Keller. The self-taught Oakes has always owned her own place, so hiring L'Hommedieu is a chance for her to learn new things.

"I'm excited to have someone of his caliber," she says. "It's a different style than any of us are used to, which makes you think in different ways."

Still, don't look for any drastic changes at the restaurant. Oakes - along with partners Pamela Mazzolaand Kathy King- opened the SoMa spot in 2010 as the sleeker, more modern answer to Boulevard. Under L'Hommedieu, the same vision will remain, as it has since opening, even after original chef Ravi Kapur left last fall.

Odds are that L'Hommedieu will have his own place eventually, but he's in no rush. In the meantime, he's behind the stoves at a fresh Prospect. He starts this week.

Chefs' spring break: Speaking of Oakes, she was among the caravan of restaurant folks - chefs, sommeliers, Guy Fieri entourage members - who made the drive down to last weekend's annual food and wine bonanza at Pebble Beach.

There were the usual fancy dinners, raucous after-parties and bountiful alcohol consumption.

Los Angeles chef Roy Choi (Kogi) had a fabulous line on some chefs' dancing skills: "Pebble Beach F&W after-party felt like watching your parents party and dance to Salt-n-Pepa."

But not everyone was partying. Monterey sheriffs reported that someone broke into a Carmel restaurant on Saturday night and stole $8,000 worth of Tequila.

Important questions: The end is nigh for Bushi-Tei (1638 Post St.), as owner Takumi "Tak" Matsubaannounced his plans to close at the end of the month.

Rumor is that the still-unnamed new owner(s) - assuming the deal is finalized - plans to keep the bathroom that includes a remote control. That, however, is unconfirmed.

Big fish: San Mateo's Kingfish (201 S. B St.) is one of the busiest restaurants on the Peninsula, doing upward of 550 covers on weekends, according to owner Robert Kirkbride.

Any restaurant with that kind of volume is a challenge, and the extensive menu at Kingfish - there are well over 50 dishes - makes it even more so. Now, Kirkbride says he's hired a new chef up to the task in Chad Kaneshiro.

"I feel we've finally found the balance between a large menu with ample offerings and being able to use small-farm organic ingredients and proteins that are from some of the best purveyors," Kirkbride says, adding that the goal is to get San Mateo a spot on next year's Top 100 Restaurants.

Birthday parties: Next week, RN74 (301 Mission St.) celebrates its third birthday, and Michael Mina and his team are marking the occasion from Sunday through April 28 by offering selected $3 drinks from the happy-hour menu all night long. On the less boozy side, the restaurant-bar will also offer $3 "takeaway treats."

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